


A Thousand Words

by sleep_incarnate



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/F, Painting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 08:51:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15770730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleep_incarnate/pseuds/sleep_incarnate
Summary: Kagero tries a new way to show Beruka how much she loves her.





	A Thousand Words

A brush against parchment, bringing forth an infinite number of words and images; the only limit that of the holder. Kagero had grown accustomed to the finer points of such an art, yet her results were never what she could feel truly satisfied with. She could give form to her ideas sure, yet still she only wished to do them over again, vowing that this time she would surely bring the true form to wondrous pictures from her mind.

It was during one of her rare days of shutting herself in her quarters that she’d been told of a new method for her to practice her colorful arts.

“Portraits?” The ninja raised an eyebrow at the idea. “Orochi I’m thankful you’d think so highly of my art, but I do not feel I can properly--”

“Oh stop it, Kagero!” The lavender mage lightly nudged her friend. “Sure your style is…rather unique, but maybe you need something fresh to learn more!”

Kagero looked at her mountain of crumpled paper, the same dark paint stains littering every piece of parchment. “I mean think of it this way,” Orochi continued. “If you’re on a mission for King Ryoma, do you always use the same entrance into an enemy camp?”

That was an obvious answer. Kagero ripped her current attempt at a view from her room, swiftly crumpling it into a ball. “I would seek out a new way in each time so as to avoid any chance the enemy will search for me.”

The boisterous mage jumped from her seat and clapped her hands. “Exactly! So how about it? Why not paint someone for once?”

But Kagero shook her head. “I’ve seen how many in Hoshido and even Nohr react to my work. None would wish to have their visage ruined by my less than romantic art.”

“Nonsense, I mean there’s…um…” Orochi pouted before lighting up. “What about that one girl you had tea with months back? She seemed very interested in your talents!”

“Lady Peri?” Kagero remembered the cavalier. It would be a wonder if anyone from the New Valla army  _ forgot _ her. “I haven’t heard from her in quite some time. Even her lord hasn’t seen her any time recently I’m afraid.”

Orochi pouted again. “How about that Odin fellow? Tall? Blonde? Always a step away from performing a play?”

“Same story, I’m afraid.” Kagero looked to a folder she’d kept for the mage. “He helped give a more unique sense of creativity to sketches when I sent some to Nohr, but like Peri, he hasn’t returned my recent drafts for months.”

“Hmm…” That seemed to stump Orochi. She opened her mouth to take another shot, but a tap on Kagero’s door suddenly stopped her.

“Kagero?” A monotone voice called from behind the thin door. “My mission for you has been completed.”

That made Orochi’s eyes lighten up as her smirk grew tenfold. “Oh my I think we’ve gotten your lucky subject, dear!”

Kagero looked confused as Orochi pulled the sliding door open. “Beruka, darling! I was just talking to Kagero about you!”

The small assassin looked out of place in her Nohrian armor compared to Kagero and Orochi’s Hoshidan robes. Many a trip to the market was spent by Kagero trying and failing to give the Nohrian a set of robes as a gift. Beruka always refused, explaining she didn’t require such things as long as her armor fit her. “Me?” Beruka asked, setting the large bag near Kagero. “Why would you need to discuss such a topic?”

Kagero looked into the brown bag and smiled. Plenty of new paints for her work. “Orochi was simply jesting, though…I suppose you could assist me with one more mission.”

Beruka leaned in her seat. “Another mission? What do you need then? Poisoning? Retrieval of stolen jewelry?” She hoisted the axe from her back. “Shall I go in your stead for King Ryoma?”

That made the ninja laugh. “I suppose your habits will remain for some time, but no nothing of the sort, Beruka. I was simply thinking--”

Orochi cleared her throat before exiting. She knew better than to get in the way during pivotal moment of love.

“Pardon her.  _ Orochi _ , told me of a way to help my artistic ability grow, and it requires your help.”

“I lack any sense of artistic ability of your calibur, Kagero.” Beruka deadpanned. “My hands were not meant for lifting brush, save one for your hair of course.”

“No, no, you won’t have to paint or anything.” Kagero pulled a stool out and put it in front of her paints and brushes. “I wish to paint a portrait of you, my love.”

It was always hard to tell how Beruka reacted to much of anything. When Kagero had first confessed her love to the stoic assassin, the only sign of reciprocation were the tears gently falling down Beruka’s face. Now was no different. All the small assassin dd to react was tilt her head to the side. “You would want me as the subject for your work?”

Kagero nodded her head.

“I suppose that this will be a simple mission then.”

Kagero motioned Beruka to the seat across from her paints. “Relax. You won’t have to do anything that will not come naturally to you. Simply sit there, and I will do my best to show your beauty” From across, Beruka nodded. Kagero spared a glance at her wife before getting to work.

True to her stoic nature, Beruka hadn’t shifted into a very complex pose. She simply sat perfectly still, feet flat on the floor while her hands subtly twitched at the side of her thighs. If it weren’t for her blinking, anyone would think the assassin was nothing more than a picture perfect statue of herself.

“Your work in the field is useful for something like this,” Kagero broke the silence some time later. Once the sketch was done, she relaxed herself for the more calming part of her art: coloring. “I’ve heard of some subjects growing restless from being forced to pose so still for long  lengths of time.”

Beruka was silent in response, only giving Kagero a curt nod to show she was listening.

Time passed in silence from then on. Neither woman meant to be as silent as they were, but between Kagero’s intense focus on perfecting the shading, and Beruka’s almost statue-like pose, the wordless period simply came naturally.

“You can move again, Beruka.” Kagero stretched her legs as she stood up, motioning for her wife to come next to her. “I feel I may have used too much pain on the shading, but the results seem worth it.” With a slight bit of hesitation, Kagero turned her parchment for Beruka to see.

Immediately, the painting gave off the familiar intense feeling that all of Kagero’s paintings had. Unlike her past works, however, the intensity was less brutal and war-like. The way Beruka’s gaze in the painting seemed to shoot arrows at whoever looked at her came off strong, and Kagero’s harsher shading only amplified such a feeling.  Every minute scratch on Beruka’s armor was beautifully detailed, so much so that it made the assassin inspect her own. Weakened gear only made more issues on missions after all.

“It appears very…real.” Beruka wasn’t one for many words. Short and to the point: that was how she worked. “Do I really look like this in your eyes?”

The Hoshidan smiled down to Beruka and pulled her close. “You’ve many aspects some may not see as romantic. However to me, I find every part of you a challenge to truly paint. I feel that even the most talented artist could not show what I see in you.”

“You’re words can be as artistic as your paintings, Kagero.” Beruka leaned into the ninja, her eyes still on her portrait. “I’m very glad to have met you, you know. Nohr gave me so much, both good and bad. Yet even the little good is nothing compared to what you have given me. For that, I thank you.”

The two eventually went out once the paint had dried. Kagero was careful not to let anything happen to the masterpiece and spared no expense with finding a frame for it. A single painting told many stories on its own, and for Kagero, she told one of love despite the odds.


End file.
